Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor optical functional devices which can be used in the field of optical communication and more particularly to a plurality of optical functional devices which have light emitting or receiving wavelengths that differ slightly one from another. The present invention also relates to methods for producing such devices. Optical functional devices include light emitting devices, light detecting devices, optical waveguides, spot-size converters, wavelength converters, optical couplers, optical splitters, etc. Making the most of their wide band and high directivity, semiconductor light emitting devices can be used widely and are applicable to light sources for optical measurement, integrated light sources, wavelength-tunable light sources, light sources for optical communication, etc. For example, semiconductor light emitting devices are used, in the field of optical communication, as a multi-wavelength integrated light source which allows high density communication in the order of terabit, while in the field of optical measurement, they are useful as light sources for fiber gyros or OTDR (optical time-domain reflectometry).
Further, the present invention relates to semiconductor integrated optical devices which can be used in optical processing such as optical information processing and optical switching and more particularly to an optical integrated device which includes a semiconductor substrate having provided thereon at least one semiconductor device having optical transmitting and receiving functions. The present invention also relates to a method for producing such semiconductor integrated optical devices.